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The Sawyer

3.9 (180 reviews)
Open • 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM

About The Sawyer

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The Sawyer Photos

THE SAWYER ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating
Happy hour specials
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - The Sawyer

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Reviews With Photos

Burger
Stephanie Y.

If you have kids, The Sawyer has been a great spot for some fun family dining a bit outside of town in Truckee. Nestled in the private community of Schaeffer's Mill, the Sawyer is the "club" for those that live there, but for us normies that don't live in the gated community, it's a restaurant open to the public ONLY with reservations (that are limited times). Seemingly you can only get a rezzie before 5pm. Fine with us. Beautiful views, surrounded by trees, the outdoor patio dining in the summer was a treat. The food is a solid 4, but between ambiance and service, it's really great. Inside is large and airy, and quite popular, with a beautiful bar area, as well. It's nestled on the 'Square', a green space, where we enjoyed our drinks while the kids played with a ball we always have in our car, while we waited for our food. Adjacent is a great playground for kids. Foodwise - really good. I've had better, but honestly, for Truckee, it's good and prices comparative as dining in town. The blueberry watercress salad with salmon was great, the steak baguette was more served on Dutch Crunch vs a French baguette and was huge and indulgent, the burgers have been solid and the kids loved the kids menu with pizza and burgers. I wouldn't order the Caesar again, but that was just me. We did back to back Friday nights at The Sawyer and we agreed: a great spot for family friendly dining.

Crispy bird
Jill C.

Recently came back to the Sawyer again for another dinner. They warned us (both the hostess and the server) that the kitchen was really backed up and food could take upwards of 25 minutes. Not ideal, but we figured we'd get drinks and see how it went. We ordered the burrata board to start with a blueberry bourbon smash cocktail. Cocktail was tasty but noticed the blueberry garnish still has stems on it. Burrata board was very tasty - the berries and tomatoes were so fresh and lovely. The crackers were plain but we loved the toasted baguette slices. For entrees we got the steak sandwich and the millionaire burger. Both were cooked beautifully and as we asked. The steak was one solid piece which felt an odd choice for a sandwich (rather than chopped or sliced) but was tasty. Atmosphere was lively - we were seated near a fireplace closer to the bar area. One note: the booth we were seated in could have used a wipe down and vacuum...lots of crumbs in the corners. Overall a great place to go for a bite when we are feeling too lazy to cook.

Strawberry butter cake with vanilla ice cream

This place is definitely the best place Truckee has to offer for food and service. Zach was very passionate and knowledgeable about the restaurant and all the food, drinks and dessert was amazing. The setting, ambience and view of the surrounding areas just adds to the beauty of this place.

Short rib
Mary D.

We came here to celebrate my wife's birthday and we sat at the bar. The bartender (teresa?) was lovely. She was super friendly and knowledgeable. She makes excellent drinks as well. I ordered the short rib and it was heavenly. The restaurant is located in a gated community and gold course. Nice restaurant with good vibes. Will definitely make a trip back here when we are in town.

Lauren L.

Came here twice in one week on vacation. First with our son, all the food was impeccable. Waygu burger was beyond, tied for my favie burger ever. Towards the end of the week we came back again, just my husband and I. After a very long day driving around the lake because of a visit on the trashy south side of the lake, I didn't want to go to our reserved restaurant and instead wanted to return here. It was another delicious meal. One of the best!

Blueberry and watercress salad with crispy salmon filet
Adriane M.

The food was great and servers were on top of it. We ordered a mix of salads, entrees, apps and the cookie skillet for dessert. We had an energetic toddler in our party and the staff were patient and friendly with her too.

Steak
Amanda M.

Excellent Food & Service. Chef knows what they are doing! Beautiful restaurant. Try to snag outdoor table overlooking the golf course. Definitely would return & recommend to all!

Chicken fried chicken
John K.

Excellent place to take in a view for an early dinner. Great pizzas. Burgers. And fried chicken. Place is nice enough for date night or a special occasion and also casual enough for the kids or to watch a game. Go early (before sunset) because the views are amazing! Friend chicken A- Burger A+ Pizza B+ Brussels C+ Gabby was our server and she made the experience so enjoyable and fun. Thanks gabby!

Burger
Denise L.

Picked up food at the Sawyer during COVID and we placed our order by phone. Drove through the front gate and the restaurant is absolutely gorgeous! Great views as well, though it was rainy and dark when we arrived. However, horribly disappointed by the food here. The beef stroganoff sounded amazing, homemade pappardelle right? However, it was way undercooked and super hard. The piece of beef I got was all fat. Not very much sauce either. The only thing good was the carrots. Chicken wings, extremely fatty. Poutine...no sauce. Extremely dry. Do not recommend. All of our food was cold and we had to nuke everything too. Not sure if dining in would have changed the experience, but from the quality of the food, would not think so.

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Omg! The rib appetizers might just be the best ribs I've ever had. We'll be back for sure.

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Ask the Community - The Sawyer

Visiting from Bay Area and want to treat our Truckee friends to lunch. Need warm outdoor seating. Have a small dog who can be crated if necessary.Reservations?

Hello Jomary, We will be happy to welcome your party to The Sawyer! Can you let me know how many… 

Are dogs allowed on the patio?

Yes dogs are allowed on the patio if leashed and quiet. I've seen several people bring their leashed dogs and they sit under the tabLes outside. So nice. They can't allow them indoors

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4.3(993 reviews)
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I recently went to Truckee and tried Old Town Tap. We got there and found spots at the bar really…read morefast. They were playing one of the soccer games on the TVs, which was fun to watch. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, and it's actually pretty spacious inside. We did have to wait a little bit to get a menu, but once we got one, we ordered our drinks and food. We got the Margherita pizza, and it was SO good! I loved how crispy the crust was. When you picked up a slice, it didn't just flop over. It stayed nice and crispy. It had so much flavor, and I was seriously so happy with it. I also got the Help Wanted drink, and it was really good too. I think I found my new favorite pizza spot! If you're ever in the area, I definitely recommend stopping by. I'm already planning to go back so I can try more of their pizzas and appetizers!

I'll keep it simple. Good food…read more Decent pseudo-old town vibe. Laughably poor service. It felt more like a bunch of friends hanging out after school, not like employees actually looking after their guests. Definitely got the feeling they'd rather be anywhere else but there. Too busy scrolling on their phones, looking for something to watch on tv, or just chit-chattin it up with each other. Takeaway: No sense that guests are the job. That pattern usually shows up when nobody on the floor is actually running the room. Ownership or management has not decided that service is part of the product. The kitchen is being held to a standard. The floor is not.

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RMU Truckee - Arguably the Best Burger in town... Our Underground Burger

RMU Truckee

4.0(208 reviews)
2.0 mi

This was my first trip on this side of town. And I'm very happy to have the experience to eat at…read morethis unique restaurant/bar. When you walk in there's a sign stating come to the bar to order food/drinks. Also sit wherever you'd like. Okay cool did that some tables were dirty but still plenty of space to sit. Staff were very nice and friendly. We arrived in time for happy hour and I'm glad I did. I ended up getting their burger from the happy hour. It was hands down the best burger I've had in a looonnng time. If you're in the area stop by to try the burger. Also the duck fries were also very tasty and unique. Will be stopping here every time I'm in the area. Thanks RMU for the great experience!

I had quite literally the worst experience I've ever had at any establishment in my life at this…read moreplace on Thursday, July 9th. My fiancé and I were celebrating our ENGAGEMENT with a party of 9. We had been looking forward to this place for SO long and were so excited to spend an entire evening here. For VERY important context, both my fiancé and I were restaurant and bar managers for several years. Neither of us have ever raised our voice at anybody working at a restaurant, bar, etc. We are literally an entire crew of service workers or former service workers who are very respectful of the entire industry and its practices. When we walked up, the older blonde woman working the front was extremely hostile and rude from the jump. I was trying to ask questions about the venue, food options, etc before we went in, and she began barking at us for IDs immediately. Not a single hi, welcome in, etc. Just immediately aggressive. My fiancé, who is 27, gave her his Oregon ID. Considering this state is literally a few hours away, you would think they are fairly familiar with this ID, but apparently not! She began aggressively and repeatedly bending the ID to the point we sincerely thought it was going to snap it in half. Despite it being obviously real after looking at it under a light (Oregon has very specific and complicated patterns, it's widely known as the hardest ID to make a fake of), she said she didn't believe that it was real. We were a bit baffled, and insisted it definitely was. She asked my partner what his zip code was, and because we had just moved, he gave her our current zip before realizing she meant the one on his ID. She laughed and said "nope, i'm keeping this! This is a fake". She said because he said the zip code wrong, she wasn't going to give it back. At this point I got angry. I told her that 1. It is 1000% a real ID and 2. It is completely illegal to hold somebody's ID hostage. Her and her coworker got really defensive and told me to "just calm down" despite her continuously bending it and laughing. She kept saying "I'm allowed to keep it if it's fake" which it WASNT. It is completely illegal what she was doing. This is THEFT OF PROPERTY, so I was absolutely not going to calm down. My fiancé called his parents to hopefully get a photo of his passport to diffuse the situation. The older woman who was holding us hostage demanded to TAKE HIS PHONE and speak to his mom. She then grabbed it and walked all the way down the sidewalk, spinning around and giggling. It was one of the most bizarre things I had ever witnessed, and frankly, we believe she was intoxicated. Her coworkers looked incredibly embarrassed and wouldn't even make eye contact with us. She finally came back and we took the ID and phone back from her. She never once apologized for stealing our property, almost breaking it, and falsely accusing us of committing a crime. Not even an inkling of remorse. Just giggling. I told her how absolutely unprofessional and illegal everything she just did was. Luckily, we have legal resources that we will absolutely be exploring this week, because no patron deserves to be held hostage, have their property stolen, and not even receive an apology. Not only did RMU tarnish what was supposed to be one of the happiest nights of our lives, they lost out on thousands of dollars (that we spent elsewhere that night) from our party because their hostess had a major power trip. To make matters even worse, we had other folks join up with us later that night who also stopped by RMU and had equally unpleasant experiences. They all said that the same rude hostess was bending the ever loving life out of their IDs and being incredibly snarky.

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Trokay

Trokay

4.5(372 reviews)
2.0 mi
•$$$$

My wife and I celebrated our anniversary at Restaurant Trokay and couldn't have asked for a better…read moreevening. From the moment we walked in, the ambiance set the tone for a special night. The dining room is elegant and intimate without feeling stuffy, creating the perfect balance of fine dining and relaxed Tahoe hospitality. We enjoyed the four-course prix fixe menu with the wine pairing, and every course was excellent. The ingredients were incredibly fresh, the flavors were thoughtful and unique, and each dish felt like something special without being overdone. The wine pairings were fantastic and added to the experience throughout the meal. A special thank you to owners and chefs John and Nyna Weatherson. Their passion for what they do comes through in every aspect of the restaurant. Just as impressive as the food was the service--warm, welcoming, attentive, and genuinely focused on making guests feel cared for. The entire team helped make our anniversary memorable, and we left already talking about our next visit. If you're looking for a special dinner in Truckee, Trokay is the real deal. Outstanding food, exceptional hospitality, a beautiful atmosphere, and an experience that's worth every bit of the drive, time, and anticipation. Highly recommend. We'll definitely be back.

I've been lucky enough to dine here several times over the years - both the 10 course and the 4…read morecourse menus. Presentation and flavors are always great. Service is friendly; they seem pretty accommodating of dietary needs, such as gluten-free. Wine pairings work well and have thought behind them. I'm subtracting a star for ambience - on our most recent visit, there were 3 other tables with children; one constantly crying baby right beside us, one kid towards the back was being entertained with cartoons on a phone/tablet without headphones, so we got to listen to that, too. My guess is this is more common with an early reservation than later, and I'm not putting all the blame on the restaurant, but when dinner for two costs $700+, that's just not cool. Maybe a baby sitter fell through or something, but this price point is Fine Dining. I guess next time we'll try for a later reservation, and perhaps ask to sit at the bar if this happens again.

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Cottonwood Restaurant & Bar - Chicken sandwich

Cottonwood Restaurant & Bar

3.5(819 reviews)
1.7 mi
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The hilltop patio overlooks the town of Truckee and the surrounding pines. We got there around…read moresunset, and it was hard to beat. The menu is short, but everything we ordered was excellent: * Rack of lamb: perfectly pink, with creamy purée and grilled asparagus * Seared fish: crispy skin over rice, in a silky golden sauce with a fresh arugula and corn salad * Steak: beautifully plated, with glazed heirloom carrots and a rich red wine sauce * Crispy chicken sandwich: crunchy and stacked with slaw, with a side of seasoned fries The service was stupendous, attentive and friendly without hovering. It's the kind of place that makes you want to linger. Whether you're a local or just passing through, put Cottonwood on your list. Book ahead, and ask for a patio table!

We recently dined here and gotta say, I was worried from the Yelp reviews and chatter from some…read morelocals, but I enjoyed it. We sat on the deck, overlooking downtown Truckee and it was such a vibe. However, the interior is so old, in the best way possible, and has such a great vibe. Due to some buzzy wasps trying to get at my kids food, we moved inside, and it also just had such good vibes. We were there early evening and it was light out, but I'm wondering if at night, candlelight? If so, FUN! The bar itself is old-timey and cozy. The food is solid. My kids meals were great value and they enjoyed it. My husband and I both went with the veggie burgers sub Caesar salad. The salad was over dressed and the veggie burger was fine. Made in-house which is always a bonus, but a tad dry and not super flavorful. I think next time, I'd go straight burger. Their more expensive entrees looked interesting and the brunch menu sounds great. Overall, I haven't necessarily been super impressed with Truckee dining, so this spot brings solidly good food but really great, old-timey vibes.

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The Sawyer - newamerican - Updated October 2026

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